


The Case of Lauriam

by BlackMageEljin



Series: Missing Case Files [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Character death is just canon character death, Gen, Not in This Fic, aka she who died the update after she was introduced, also Lauriam is the official somebody name of Marluxia for those not current with JP KHUX, also the whole keyblade war i guess, and like a lot of npcs die, but probably not on screen, so i mean i guess your khux pc dies too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 11:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12253218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMageEljin/pseuds/BlackMageEljin
Summary: The case of Lauriam, before the Keyblade War and after, and how he earned the epithet 'Graceful Assassin'.In which young children are forced to deal with politics, the apocalypse, moral bargaining, and the will of a man who tried to play god.More than just a story, a theory of sorts on my personal opinion on certain potential events and Lauriam's (and Marluxia's) psychology.





	The Case of Lauriam

**Author's Note:**

> Was hit by the writer bug and just had to get this out. As it says in the description, this is mostly a catch all for all my recent theories for Lauriam and Strelitzia. If found it a bit hard to eloquently explain some of what I mean, so I'm gonna try putting it into story format. The Case of Strelitzia will be written as a companion piece, and if I'm feeling motivated I'll do a The Case of for all the second gen union leaders.

_ A blonde girl in a black coat sat in the darkness, flipping through the pages of a tattered book, before settling on a blank page. She began to write... _

 

_ “Once upon a time, there was a group of good people... who were trying to do the right thing, but in the end... they did something very bad. You see, they knew the world was going to end, and they wanted to help, but… they didn’t decide to help everyone. They would have, but the risk was high, and instead they focused on guaranteeing a few people survived, instead of taking a chance trying to save everyone. It was logical, to some degree, but… in the end, all they did was decide who got to live and... who didn’t. They stopped looking for any other way when they realized they could save the people they thought were worthy, and… in the end, to them, anyone with even just the smallest shadows cast on their heart weren’t worth the effort. And they succeeded, saving the people who were worthy from the Darkness that consumed the world… But… what was the cost…? And… as you might imagine, some of those people who were unworthy managed to sneak into paradise too. And the ones who did, they weren’t the ones with just a few shadows chasing them, they were the ones who were completely steeped in the Darkness that caused the world to end in the first place. So maybe you might think… the moral is… if you do the logical thing, or try to do the right thing… maybe it doesn't matter after all… but I don’t think that's true. There had to have been some solution… right?” _

 

* * *

 

“Master Ira…?” the pink haired boy spoke, standing straight at attention and giving respect where respect was due, an oddity for him. Or perhaps it was simply because he was surprised.

 

“I’m sorry to call you here on such short notice. I… have a special task for you, Lauriam.”

 

Lauriam tilted his head in confusion, but as he opened his mouth to ask for clarification, the man in the unicorn mask continued.

 

“You are… a strong, exemplary keyblade wielder. You have collected so much lux for our union… and... despite the most trying of times, your heart has remained pure. You’ve… barely even been affected by the power of those bracelets… That's why… I know it’s wrong of me to ask, but we’re running out of time.” The last statement caught Lauriam off guard, and was concerning to say the least. Looking closer, Master Ira was… haggard. Tired- uneasy on his feet… Had he slept or ate recently? Probably not, not with the unions fighting like this. He had a lot on his shoulders, but it was still hard seeing a leader like this…

 

Lauriam shook his head, responding, “No, I understand. It’s…” He bit his lip. Did Ira know he was a dandelion? If he said too much, too many people would be the worse for it… “It feels like a war might break out, with all the tension…” he settled on, not saying he outright  _ knew _ that war was on the horizon like Ira did.

Ira sighed. Even the children could see the world was falling to pieces, even if they weren’t aware of the consequences… “And that’s why we need to do everything possible to stop one  _ from  _ breaking out, Lauriam. That’s why…” He trailed off, then took a deep breath, standing up straight and composing himself, looking more like the leader the pink haired boy knew.

 

“So many keyblade wielders have fallen now… the Darkness… is creeping into everyone’s hearts, but… some are beginning to embrace it. At first, it was just reverse cards, the guilt from the heartless… and then keychains that drew entirely and solely on those things… and now… So many Chirithy seemed to have turned into nightmares…” As he spoke his posture fell, as if his words were sinking him further into his own despair. He paused, but then snapped up, realizing a boy like Lauriam wouldn’t know Chirithy could become corrupted.

 

“When a keyblade wielder completely gives into the Darkness, their Chirithy turns into a nightmare. Those dark spirits with red eyes… For every one of those you see it means that many people have fallen…. And those fallen ones are… Some of them have turned into monsters- we’re not sure if we should call them heartless, but…”

 

Ira trailed off again, looking down at the table next to him, leaning on it with one hand. Even if he couldn’t see his face, Lauriam had a feeling Ira wasn’t actually looking at anything. He had worn himself too thin… There was an unfortunately long silence. Lauriam wanted to at least give Ira his dignity, but the man seemed to have completely lost himself in his own thoughts now. “Master…?” he asked.

 

Ira’s attention snapped back up, ashamed he had completely lost himself like that. What if something… or someone- had attacked? He tried to compose himself again. He didn’t seem to notice or question Lauriam hadn’t seemed surprised by what he was saying. “...People are turning into monsters, Lauriam. And… in battle, those monsters are much more dangerous… but… those people, before they fall, they’re dragging other people with them. They are the ones instigating this war, turning unions against each other. That is why I am entrusting you with a task, one no one else can know about, Lauriam. The people whose hearts are turning black… I need you to eliminate them.”

 

“W-what?” That had caught Lauriam’s attention. He hadn’t been privy to everything Ira had been explaining, persay, but as a dandelion he had certainly seen many of the things he’d mentioned. Monsters that used to be people, Chirithys with red eyes and black fur. People had been fighting over increasingly petty things… but never, not once, had he seen a keyblade wielder strike another down, no matter what their union. Bar fights, arguments, tussles, but no one was  _ dead  _ because of it. At least… not yet, he reminded himself. Maybe those people who turned into monsters had, but… wasn’t… the point of him being a dandelion that he didn’t have to get involved in the killing?

 

“You can’t be serious.” Lauriam protested once he’d finally regained his bearings. “If you start sending out assassins, then you really are going to start a war.”

“...I know,” Ira said sadly. Just… sadly. Like all the fight and hope was gone from him now. “This is a last resort, I’ve waited as long as I can, but… those monsters just keep growing in number. If we do nothing, then the war will begin, and if we act, it still might, but....” he explained, his eloquence seeming to fail him suddenly. “I never wanted to go against the teachings, but…” he muttered to himself.

 

Lauriam wasn’t sure if Ira had meant to imply what he had, but it made him think. If he… never got caught, no, maybe it wouldn’t cause a war. Bodies would pile up though… People would ask questions… Then again… more darkness… more heartless… more monsters… It wasn’t as if their duty was without risk, it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been casualties… just not… by human hands…

 

It made him sick, realizing how easy it was to just… detach himself on the inside, to look at the situation with pure logic, like a hypothetical, with no emotion or morals schooling him. Not that his heart wasn’t screaming at the absurdity of the situation, telling him to run, to tell Master Ava what just happened and leave his union, to shout and yell at Master Ira, to tell him how wrong what he was suggesting was.

 

But then again, if he was going to take the moral high ground, then perhaps he would have told a few more people the world was ending.

 

“So… you're asking me to do your dirty work? Because if it’s you who gets caught, then it’s a crusade against Unicornis- No, it’s okay, I understand.” He cut himself off when Ira tried to interrupt him, clearly fishing for justifications or pretty ways to dress up the plain truth. “If you have to, then my story will become the elegant tale of Jack the Ripper. I’m young not stupid, I understand politics,” he said more bitterly than he meant to.

 

“...I’m sorry, I… If there was another way…” Ira murmured. 

 

Idly, Lauriam wondered if Master Ira had it in him to kill him if he refused, to assure he’d keep his mouth shut. He didn’t think he did, maybe he had some other way- something to muddle the recent memories… or maybe he was really just slipping that much.

 

“Apology accepted, I guess,” he returned, crossing his arms and looking at the floor. “...Can I… think about it?” he asked. Pushing his luck surely. Maybe thinking about Ira being bad at organizing secret missions was easier than thinking about… what that secret mission was in general.

 

“Of course,” Ira said confidently. “Lauriam, you understand what is at stake, but I know you need time. You’ve always followed every order I’ve given you, you don’t always place high in rankings, but that’s not what matters. You put all your time and effort into things that will better the Union, regardless of your own personal gain. That’s why I trust you Lauriam.”

 

Lauriam continued to stare at the floor. Was that… true? That he supported the Union that much? Really, it was just that he was a perfectionist, maybe a bit OCD- he just wanted things to work optimally, that was all, it bothered him when it didn’t. He always got his chance at the spotlight when he wanted it, he didn’t need it  _ all _ the time… Then again, maybe that was just another reason why Master Ira thought he was suited for… this… “I’ll be back tomorrow.” And with that, he left.

 

* * *

 

Needless to say, Lauriam couldn't sit still after a meeting like that. Even his Chirithy didn’t know what to do or say… so he set out to one of the illusory worlds they used to collect lux. Wandering aimlessly, slaying heartless as they crossed his path. It was so easy, striking down the monsters with unnatural, glowing eyes. Or was it? Some of them wore clothes, some of them used tools… His head was spinning trying to sort things back into boxes that made sense. No, the monsters were monsters, of course they were bad… but… if people could turn into monsters… then at what point does it become acceptable to destroy them?

 

Not long after Lauriam entered the mines he heard voices. He ignored them at first, muffled coming from an offshooting tunnel. But then when he got close enough he saw who the voices belong to.

 

A keyblade wielder with the usual gross hodgepodge of unfashionable but ‘well statted’ equipment was talking - pleading - with one of the Darklings. “Please Mog, I know you’re in there- you can hear me right? Right!?” she asked, her purple hair sticking to her dark skin from either sweat or tears. 

 

For a moment, it looked like the Darkling was reaching out to her, like it had heard what she was saying and whatever was left of her friend could actually answer back. But no, in the next second the motion turned into an attack.

 

Lauriam intercepted, striking back with his keyblade. The monster lept back, taking a battle stance. He made to attack it, but the girl latched onto his arm. “No wait! You can’t! He- He has to be in there still! We can save him! That’s- That was why we were gathering lux, wasn’t it? To help people, when things like this happen? Please-” She was hysterical, and her grip on his arm left his defenseless. Still, he turned so he took the brunt of the attack from the creature.

 

“I’m sorry,” Lauriam said as he threw the girl off. He meant it, but he wasn’t going to make excuses either. At least the girl wouldn’t have to finish off what was left of her friend herself. That was the only mercy he could give…

 

And in the next moment there was a flash of cards and black and purple mist. Ira was right, using cards so full of darkness couldn’t have helped things, but they were strong. Fighting fire with fire was effective, he supposed…

The creature fell, falling to the ground and dissipating in black wisps that were somehow both and neither fire and fog at the same time. He turned to apologize to the girl again, but what he saw made him stop short.

 

She was standing now, and an aura was wafting off of her, all black and red. “You…” she said softly, she was looking at the ground, hunched over and clenching her fists. “You killed him! You didn’t even give him a chance! You…!”

 

She looked up, and her eyes were solid yellow and glowing. She summoned her keyblade, one with one of the darker keychains. “You killed him!” she repeated, and pockets of her skin began to turn jet black.

 

Lauriam had seen the Darklings before, he heard the rumors, that they used to be people, and Ira had confirmed that… But… he had never… seen someone turn into one, never witnessed a person falling from grace so suddenly. He didn’t know what to do- he was speechless, and he barely managed to parry when the girl charged at him.

 

The battle was surreal, he couldn’t have told you how long it went on. She was strong, and for a time his mind mercifully only had to focus on his own survival. It wasn’t until he dealt the final blow that reality came crashing back down.

 

The girl skidded across the ground, her skin a patchwork of flesh and inky darkness, electricity still shooting off her. She struggled to get to her feet again, but then fell back to the floor. The battle was over, and it seemed for both of them the silence was enough to regain sense. She looked at her own hand, watching the blackness crawl over and under the skin.

 

Lauriam approached her, unsure of what to say. When he had finally thought of something, she beat him to it. “He… always wore that stupid moogle head…”

 

“...I see,” was all Lauriam could say. He had known the Darkling had been her friend, but it felt like that information was just reaching his heart for the first time. He knelt next to her, carefully rolling her onto her back. “I can take you back to town, I’m not sure what will happen, but… perhaps your union leader will have a solution,” he offered. 

 

She shook her head. “I won’t… last that long. I’m sorry. I can… feel it eating away at me.”

 

Lauriam was quiet for a moment. “...What do you want me to do?” he asked carefully.

 

The girl - or what was left of her - looked up at the ceiling. “...He… turned into a monster, so we tried to save him, but the others…” she explained weakly. After a moment she closed her eyes. “I don’t… want to hurt anybody… I don’t… want to hurt you… so please…” She opened her eyes again, locking her inhuman irisless yellow gaze with Lauriam’s. “...Let me die while I’m still human.”

Lauriam was still, he understood, but… really, he couldn’t deny her, because either way it would be her dying wish. He lifted his keyblade up, but then stopped. She was infused with darkness now. A keyblade would be far from a painless death, and she didn’t deserve that. Instead, he pulled a small gardening tool out from his boot. Small, but sharp, that’s what mattered. “Alright,” he said finally- delayed, really. And with that he drew the blade across her throat. The blood spilled quickly, and the Darkness that was eating away at her flesh came to a halt, the same moment the light dimmed from wide yellow eyes.

 

He closed them and stood. It seemed... he had an answer for Ira.


End file.
